Advice needed: Will taking on a rescue upset my buns?

I'm looking for a bit of advice regarding taking on a rescue bun.

I currently have 2 unspayed females (roughly 4/5 months old) who live together. They appear to get on quite well as they often snuggle together and occasionally groom each other.

When I picked these buns I also saw a male (approx. 1 year old) who needed a new home. As I wanted a pair I took the girls but ever since I brought them home I can't stop thinking about this young male. He looked so fed up when I saw him, I keep thinking that I should go and get him and give him the life he deserves as he had been there for a while.

My issue is, seeing as my females are unspayed, is it likely that keeping the male in a cage near them will upset their bonding?


Any advice would be greatly appreciated! :roll:

Yes its very likely.
What you could do is get the girls spayed.This will secure their bond as there is always a good chance they could fall out in the future as they reach sexual maturity even if they get on now,if they are not spayed.Also it will prevent uterine cancer which is quite common in unsprayed does.

If you have the male is there anywhere else he can live which isn't near the girls?Again I recommend getting him neutered if you do take him on as apart from anything else,his behaviour will be calmer and he will be happier without hormones to deal with.

Good luck whatever you decide.

Thanks for the advice!

I have been thinking about having the girls spayed after reading that the risk of them developing uterine cancer is quite high. When I spoke to a vet at my practice about this she was a little hesitant to offer her opinion and suggested I think about the risks involved in the operation. I’ll enquire with the practice to see how often they spay, otherwise I’ll look for another practice.

If I were to get him, his cage would be on the other side of the patio (roughly 5m between them). I guess they would still be able to see and smell each other though.
I don’t even know whether or not he is still there. I kind of hope someone has already taken him on for his own wellbeing.

I would take it one step at a time. The most important thing is to get your girls spayed, for bonding and health reasons. When they have recovered, perhaps think again about adding another rabbit. (I do understand what you mean about seeing a rabbit you simply can't get out of your head, but what you don't want to do is rush into things and upset your two.)

Lightning57 said:

Thanks for the advice!

I have been thinking about having the girls spayed after reading that the risk of them developing uterine cancer is quite high. When I spoke to a vet at my practice about this she was a little hesitant to offer her opinion and suggested I think about the risks involved in the operation. I’ll enquire with the practice to see how often they spay, otherwise I’ll look for another practice.

If I were to get him, his cage would be on the other side of the patio (roughly 5m between them). I guess they would still be able to see and smell each other though.
I don’t even know whether or not he is still there. I kind of hope someone has already taken him on for his own wellbeing.

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If a vet is hesitant about advising a spay in a female rabbit you really need to change vets.These days there is less risk of complications when a rabbit is spayed by a competent rabbit savvy vet.
If you feel a change is necessary you could start a thread in Rabbit Chat saying the area you live in and asking for rabbit savvy vet recommendations.
I think having the male that close could be risky but much less so if everybun is neutered.
Is it possible to maybe have him indoors?I know this isn't an option for everyone.If it is,there are lots of ideas in the Housing Section showing different set-up ideas.
Your first step though is getting the girls spayed to ensure their bond stays strong,especially as spring has arrived and that does funny things to bunny hormones/behaviour!